Popped raft leads 3 to cold, wet night on riverbank

CARNATION — Three young men dressed in shorts, T-shirts and sandals spent a cold, wet night Saturday on the banks of the Tolt River in Washington’s Snoqualmie Valley after their raft popped when it hit a log on the river.

The King County sheriff’s office says the unidentified men, in their 20s, were stuck overnight on the south side of the river; they would have had to hike four miles through dense woods to get out. Sunday morning, someone heard them yelling for help and called the sheriff’s office.

Sgt. John Urquhart says the sheriff’s marine unit set up a high-line across the river and pulled them to safety.

The sheriff’s office warns that Western Washington rivers are running very fast and very cold due to snow melt.